Singaporeans emerge as connoisseurs of arts and culture; record numbers turn out to museum and art events in 2016

Singaporeans have emerged as connoisseurs of arts and culture as there has been a record surge in the numbers of people going to the museums, heritage institutions and arts and culture activities in the year 2106.

About 5.1 million visitors flocked to various museums and heritage institutions, which was up from almost four million in 2015, revealed the latest Singapore Cultural Statistics report released today by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY).

About 5.1 million visitors flocked to various museums and heritage institutions in Singapore during 2016. Photo courtesy: National Gallery

The report also pointed out that over 9.2 million people attended non-ticketed performing arts events in 2016, the highest on record since 2012. This was due to the increase in the number of events to an all-time high of close to 6,000 from 5,000 in 2015.

Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth of Singapore, mentioned the important points of the report in her address at the Culture Academy Singapore’s annual conference held at the National Museum of Singapore.

Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth of Singapore. Photo courtesy: Facebook

She said, “These positive trends suggest we are on the right track in developing a more vibrant arts and culture scene.”

The Minister added, “We can do more in revitalising our city and spaces through place-making. We must continue to engage our stakeholders and to do so more deeply, to build on our existing efforts. We need sustained engagement and purposeful programming to effectively make a place.”

However, the report mentioned that there was a slight drop in attendance for ticketed arts events, from 1.9 million in 2015 to 1.8 million.

There was also a drop in philanthropic contributions to arts and culture from SGD152.6m in 2015, which was a result of the SG50 buzz, to SGD74.3m last year. Government funding also dropped from the SG50 highs of SGD936.7m to SGD712.7m.

Author

Ashraf Jamal – Senior Writer

Ashraf Jamal brings a rare depth to writing equipped with a degree in journalism, a postgraduate degree in political science, and a degree in law from the Allahabad University. His experience includes editing and publishing the Northern India Patrika and writing for Times of India for almost a decade covering just about any topic under the sun including NRIs and Indian diaspora.